Discuss the Role of Neural and Hormonal Mechanisms in Aggression (24)

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Discuss the role of neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression (24) Aggression is deliberate anti-social behaviour that is often intended to cause harm, usually observed through verbal or physical acts. There are two mechanisms said to be involved in aggression, neural and hormonal. Neural mechanisms such as the amydgala and the prefrontal cortex are thought to be involved in aggressive behaviour. The amygdala is a group of nuclei in the frontal lobe of the brain which is associated with primitive aggressive responses of instinct fear and aggression. The prefrontal cortex is in charge of thought analysis and regulated behaviour. When the amygdala is over reactive, this is when aggressive behaviour occurs. Research supporting the role of the amygdala in aggression comes from Kluver and Bucy (1930). They removed part of the temporal lobes of rhesus monkeys (thus destroying their amygdala). The behaviour changes resulting from this procedure included a loss of fear and a marked taming effect, therefore a reduction in aggression. This concludes that the amygdala is a neural mechanism involved with aggressive behaviour. A strength of this research is that there is supporting evidence from Narabayashi (1972), who found that 43 out of 58 patients showed an improvement in aggressive behaviour after they received operations to have their amygdala removed. This is a strength because converging evidence increases the reliability of the idea that the amygdala is involved in aggression. As there is converging evidence from both human and animal research, this means there is continuity of function. Therefore we can generalise from animals to humans because the amygdala is a simple brain structure that controls reactive aggression, and this is similar across all species. Because there is continuity of function, it also means it’s justified to use non-human animals in this
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